Monday, 2 April 2012

Equalities and Human Rights Commission:web monitoring potentially incompatible with the right to privacy

Organisation: Equality and Human Rights Commission

Source: Press Releases

Date: 02.04.12

A commission spokesperson said:

"The Government's email and web monitoring plans
would potentially be incompatible with the right to privacy of many ordinary
people in the UK.

"The Commission's own research last year into
information privacy concluded that there was a lack of proper regulatory oversight and too much
conflicting legislation, all of which fails to provide adequate
protection for citizens and their private information.

"We found that the way the government and its
agencies collect, use and store personal data is not respecting people s right
to privacy. However, because of the complexity of the current laws, obligations are unclear and authorities may
be unaware they are breaking the law.

"These issues need properly addressing rather than
introducing new proposals which further reduce people's rights to
privacy."